Northrop Grumman Systems has received a contract to build the third E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning and attack aircraft for the government of Japan.
According to a Pentagon announcement from June 5, Northrop received $153.2 million for the construction of the aircraft which is expected to be completed by March 2020.
In 2014, the Japanese Ministry of Defense competitively selected the E-2D to fulfill the nation’s AEW requirements. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force has operated the E-2C Hawkeye since the 1983.
The contract to build the first Japanese Advanced Hawkeye was awarded to Northrop in January 2016 and the aircraft is scheduled for delivery in 2018. Construction work on the second aircraft is also underway at the company’s Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence in St. Augustine, Florida under a contract from August 2016.
The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is an upgraded version of the E-2C Hawkeye featuring improved battle space target detection and situational awareness, especially in the littorals; support of Theater Air Missile Defense (TAMD) operations; and improved operational availability.